October 4: Daniil Trifonov releases double album My American Story – North on Deutsche Grammophon
(October 2024) — On October 4, Grammy-winning Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov – declared by The Times of London to be “without question the most astounding young pianist of our age” – releases My American Story – North on Deutsche Grammophon.Celebrating music from the country he now calls home, the pianist’s new double album – the first of two volumes – ranges from jazz and swing to modernism, minimalism, and popular soundtracks. Joined by the Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguinfor George Gershwin’s Concerto in F and the world premiere recording of the concerto written for him by Mason Bates, Trifonov also performs solo works by John Adams, John Cage, Aaron Copland, John Corigliano, Bill Evans, Dave Grusin, Thomas Newman, and Art Tatum. The album will be released digitally, on 2 CDs, and in a 3-LP deluxe vinyl version (with extended liner notes, additional photos, and two bonus tracks).
See a video for the Allegro agitato finale of Gershwin’s Concerto in F
Trifonov moved from Russia to the United States in 2009 to study with Sergei Babayan at the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM). It was in Cleveland that he discovered Art Tatum – whose music represented Trifonov’s first experience with jazz, and who was admired by no less a pianist than Vladimir Horowitz. For the album, Trifonov made his own transcription of Tatum’s 1949 recording of I Cover the Waterfront. Jazz great Bill Evansis also represented, with his contemplative and harmonically lush rendition of a tune that sums up Trifonov’s relationship to his adopted home: “When I Fall in Love.”
Trifonov first heard George Gershwin’s Concerto in F as a teenager in Moscow and immediately wanted to perform it. Subsequent exploration in the U.S. has given him a cinematic take on the work, which he thinks of “like a chase scene in a black-and-white movie … through the dark streets of Chicago.” Hollywood films in fact formed some of the pianist’s first impressions of America while he was still in Moscow, before his teacher and classmates at CIM provided him with a “must-see” list for a crash course in American culture. Two films with soundtracks prominently featuring solo piano are represented on the album: The Firm with music by Dave Grusin, and American Beauty with music by Thomas Newman.
As quintessentially American as much of Aaron Copland’s later music is, Trifonov turned instead to his first major piano work, the rarely recorded Piano Variations, which he calls both a masterpiece and the “most challenging to play” of the compositions on My American Story. Two contemporary Americans are represented with minimalist pieces: John Adams with the nature-inspired China Gates, and John Corigliano with Fantasia on an Ostinato, a meditation on a quotation from Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony. Trifonov’s “field version” of John Cage’s silent piano piece 4’33” is cleverly chosen to showcase the sounds of a beloved city and a walk he has made “maybe 300 times” from New York’s Columbus Circle subway station into Central Park.
Mason Bates’s Piano Concerto, written for Trifonov and captured live during its premiere performance with Music and Artistic Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra, provides something of a summation of the pianist’s American journey. As Trifonov describes it:
“The first movement is a witty, playful homage to the Renaissance. The second movement, in the Romantic tradition, is a soulful conversation between the orchestra and the pianist. The third movement is eccentric and rhythmical, with a cinematic drive. I appreciate when you can tell where a music is from. Mason’s piece is one of the great concertos of the 21st century – and it could have only been written in America!”
The same conductor and orchestra were Trifonov’s partners for Destination Rachmaninov, the series that earned him two Grammy nominations and BBC Music’s “Concerto Recording of the Year.” Nézet-Séguin comments:
“The Philadelphia Orchestra and I have a special musical relationship with Daniil Trifonov that is featured beautifully on this album. Giving the world premiere of Mason Bates’s incredible concerto, written specifically for Daniil, was a highlight of our season. We are delighted to share this work more widely, along with our performance of Gershwin’s beloved Concerto in F, both of which are brought vividly to life in a way that only Daniil and the Philadelphia Orchestra can.”
My American Story – North
Track list:
1. John W. Green: “I Cover the Waterfront” (arr. Art Tatum, transc. Daniil Trifonov) 2:50
George Gershwin: Concerto in F for Piano and Orchestra
2. 1. Allegro 12:53
3. 2. Adagio – Andante con moto 11:54
4. 3. Allegro agitato 6:46
5. Aaron Copland: Piano Variations 11:12
6. Victor Young: “When I Fall in Love” (arr. Bill Evans) 3:00
7. John Adams: China Gates 4:19
8. John Corigliano: Fantasia on an Ostinato 12:46
9. Dave Grusin: Memphis Stomp (from the film The Firm) 3:43
10. Thomas Newman: American Beauty (from the film American Beauty) 3:52
Mason Bates: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
11. Movement I 8:10
12. Movement II 9:45
13. Movement III 9:08
14. John Cage: 4’33’’ (Field Version: Cage @ Columbus) 4:33
Daniil Trifonov: 2024-25 engagements
Oct 3 & 4
Hamburg, Germany
NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra / Alan Gilbert
RAVEL: Piano Concerto in G
Oct 10
Houston, Texas
Houston Symphony Orchestra / Juraj Valčuha
DVOŘÁK: Piano Concerto
Oct 13 & 17: U.S. solo recitals
Oct 13: Morrow, GA
Oct 17: New York, NY (Carnegie Hall)
TCHAIKOVSKY: Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor
CHOPIN: Selected Waltzes
BARBER: Piano Sonata
TCHAIKOVSKY / Mikhail PLETNEV: Concert Suite from The Sleeping Beauty
Oct 21–Nov 5: European tour with Bamberg Symphony / Jakub Hrůša
Oct 21 & 22: Graz, Austria
Oct 24: Vienna, Austria
Oct 25: Ljubljana, Slovenia
Oct 26: Zagreb, Croatia
RACHMANINOFF: Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini
Nov 2: Bamberg, Germany
Nov 4: Brno, Czech Republic
Nov 5: Linz, Austria
DVOŘÁK: Piano Concerto
Oct 30
Regensburg, Germany
TCHAIKOVSKY: Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor
CHOPIN: Selected Waltzes
BARBER: Piano Sonata
TCHAIKOVSKY / Mikhail PLETNEV: Concert Suite from The Sleeping Beauty
Nov 17
Chicago, Illinois
Symphony Center
Solo recital:
TCHAIKOVSKY: Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. posth. 80
CHOPIN: Selected Waltzes
BARBER: Piano Sonata
TCHAIKOVSKY / Mikhail PLETNEV: Concert Suite from The Sleeping Beauty
Nov 19–30: European tour with Orchestre symphonique de Montréal / Rafael Payare
Nov 20: Luxembourg (Philharmonie)
Nov 27: Amsterdam, Netherlands (Concertgebouw)
Nov 30: Vienna, Austria (Konzerthaus)
BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 1
Nov 22: Paris, France (Philharmonie)
Nov 24: Hamburg, Germany (Elbphilharmonie)
Nov 25: Berlin, Germany (Philharmonie)
Nov 28: Munich, Germany (Isarphilharmonie)
SCHUMANN: Piano Concerto
Dec 5 & 7: U.S. tour with Czech Philharmonic / Semyon Bychkov
Dec 5: New York, NY (Carnegie Hall)
Dec 7: Toronto, Canada
DVOŘÁK: Piano Concerto
Dec 29–31
Berlin, Germany
Berlin Philharmonic / Kirill Petrenko
BRAHMS: Piano Concerto No. 2
Feb 2
London, UK
London Symphony Orchestra / Daniel Harding
SCHUMANN: Piano Concerto
Feb 4–6: Italian solo recital tour
Feb 4: Milan
Feb 5: Rome
Feb 6: Naples
TCHAIKOVSKY: Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. posth. 80
CHOPIN: Selected Waltzes
BARBER: Piano Sonata
TCHAIKOVSKY / Mikhail PLETNEV: Concert Suite from The Sleeping Beauty
Feb 9
Mannheim, Germany
Mannheim Philharmonic / Boian Videnoff
SCHUMANN: Piano Concerto
Feb 11–14: Spanish solo recital tour
Feb 11: San Sebastian
Feb 12: Seville
Feb 14: Barcelona
TCHAIKOVSKY: Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. posth. 80
CHOPIN: Selected Waltzes
BARBER: Piano Sonata
TCHAIKOVSKY / Mikhail PLETNEV: Concert Suite from The Sleeping Beauty
Feb 21–23
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Symphony / Esa-Pekka Salonen
PROKOFIEV: Piano Concerto No. 2
Feb 26
Philadelphia, PA
Solo recital
Program TBA
March 2–9: U.S. duo recital tour with Leonidas Kavakos, violin
March 2: Washington, DC (Kennedy Center)
March 4: New York, NY (Carnegie Hall)
March 5: Boston, MA (Celebrity Series)
March 7: Kansas City, MO (Harriman–Jewell Series)
March 9: Chicago, IL (Symphony Center)
BEETHOVEN: Sonata No. 4 in A minor
POULENC: Sonata for Violin and Piano
BRAHMS: Sonata No. 1 in G, Op. 78
BARTÓK: Rhapsody No. 1
March 14–April 1: Australian recital tour with Matthias Goerne, baritone
March 14: Adelaide (Adelaide Festival)
March 16: Mount Barker
March 25 & 30: Sydney Symphony
April 1: Melbourne
Program TBA
March 26, 28, & 29
Sydney, Australia
Sydney Symphony / conductor TBA
RACHMANINOFF: Piano Concerto No. 4
April 3, 5, & 7
Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne Symphony / Jaime Martín
RACHMANINOFF: Piano Concerto No. 3
April 11 & 12: New Zealand concerts with New Zealand Symphony Orchestra / conductor TBA
April 11: Wellington
April 12: Auckland
RACHMANINOFF: Piano Concerto No. 3
April 18
Singapore City, Singapore
Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Hans Graf
RACHMANINOFF: Piano Concerto No. 4
May 1–4
Chicago, IL
Chicago Symphony Orchestra / Klaus Mälekä
BRAHMS: Piano Concerto No. 2
May 15–31
Leipzig, Germany
Shostakovich Festival 2025
May 15
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra / Andris Nelsons
SHOSTAKOVICH: Piano Concerto No. 2
May 18
With Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, violin
SHOSTAKOVICH: Sonatas for Violin and Piano
May 20
With Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, violin; Gautier Capuçon, cello
SHOSTAKOVICH: Violin and Piano Trios Nos. 1 & 2
SHOSTAKOVICH: Sonata for Cello and Piano
May 21
With Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider & Baiba Skride, violins; Antoine Tamestit, viola; Gautier Capuçon, cello
SHOSTAKOVICH: Sonata for Viola and Piano
SHOSTAKOVICH: Piano Quintet
May 31
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra / Andris Nelsons
SHOSTAKOVICH: Concerto for Piano, Trumpet, and Strings (with Thomas Rolfs, trumpet)
May 23–28: European solo recitals
May 23: Frankfurt, Germany (Alte Oper)
May 24: Essen, Germany (Ruhr Piano Festival; Philharmonie)
May 26: Hamburg, Germany (Laeiszhalle)
May 28: Paris, France (Philharmonie)
Program TBA